DIY Idea: Make Your Own Portable Camp Kitchen

Spring is being a bit of a jerk this year, taking its sweet time to show up. In like lion, out like a slightly less cold but equally wet and windy lion. I've got a serious case of cabin fever this year – probably not worse than any other March, though it certainly seems so – and I'm spending my time planning all the stuff I'm going to do outside when the snow melts.    And, this portable outdoor kitchen isn't helping my fresh air jones much. I first spied the Outdoorsman Camp Kitchen on The Fancy for a whopping $950, but a little more research show you can snag it for a more bearable $500 from its original source – My Camp Kitchen by Bristlecone. 

And a little more research (read: looking at the pictures) leads me to think: this is totally makeable at home with a single sheet of plywood and some accessories. It's basically just a plywood box with exposed hardware, reinforced with some shelves and dividers and a back to keep everything square. 

The legs are the tricky part, as they're designed to stay sturdy on uneven terrain. You could make them from hardwood with holes to accomodate support knobs, but Colorado scouter suggests using adjustable aluminum tent poles, as he did on his “Family Patrol Box” seen here: 

These are called a variety of names: camp kitchens, chuck boxes, patrol boxes, so doing some searching to find the inspiration that's right for you. Here's a cool Instructable to inspire your own DIY effort.

Outdoorsman Camp Kitchen [MyCampKitchen.com] – $495 

Once you've got your camp kitchen all set up, grab a stump and get to cooking. We recommend this campfire beef brisket: